One of the North East’s most promising civil engineers has been recognised nationally as one of the ‘Top 50 Women in Engineering’.
Amy Wright, 27, was included in the list that was backed by the Women’s Engineering Society (WES) and published by The Daily Telegraph.
The WES Top 50 Women in Engineering initiative aims to boost female uptake in engineering roles and careers by celebrating the achievements by women in industry.
Amy, from Houghton le Spring, is a senior site engineer with building and civil engineering contractor Farrans. She is currently working on the impressive £117m New Wear Crossing project, in Sunderland, which is the first bridge to be built over the River Wear in the city for more than 40 years.
Amy graduated with a First Class Master’s Degree with Honours in Civil Engineering from the University of Nottingham and is a committed Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) representative – currently holding the title of ICE Regional Education Co-ordinator for the North East.
She has also founded and managed NUSTREAM, a renewable energy project that designed and installed a small scale hydropower and solar power scheme to provide approximately 1,000 people in rural Malawi with electricity.
Amy said: “I’m very honoured to have been included in the WES list, which boasts many leading and inspiring women engineers. I have always had an interest in engineering and worked extremely hard to get where I am today. This is definitely one of my greatest personal achievements.
“Over the course of my relatively short career I have been involved in some exciting and crucial infrastructure projects, as well as met many great people along the way, especially through my work with ICE. I’m a keen advocate of the industry and hope to use my experiences to attract more young people into a rewarding career in engineering.”
Penny Marshall, ICE Regional Director for the North East, said: “Amy is an exceptionally talented engineer, who has been a model ICE representative, and this latest achievement is fully deserved. We are fortunate to call on Amy’s enthusiasm and experiences in our vast education programmes, and she actively supports our work with young people in schools. I would like to congratulate her on this recognition and wish her all the very best in her promising career.”
Stephen McCaffrey, Project Director of FVB Joint Venture, which is delivering the New Wear Crossing on behalf of Sunderland City Council, said he was delighted for Amy.
“This is a wonderful achievement, and richly deserved, too,” said Stephen.
“We are extremely pleased to have Amy on the Farrans team working on the New Wear Crossing. Her passion for engineering, dedication to the project and eye for detail certainly give her an edge, and her commitment to encouraging other young people into the profession is outstanding.”
Leader of Sunderland City Council, Cllr Paul Watson, said: “I’ve met Amy a number of times when I’ve visited to the site of the new bridge and I’m not at all surprised that she’s been included in this impressive list of women engineers. She sets a great example to young girls and women out there. We’re extremely proud of her.”